The story of Denard

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Week 1 brought plenty of twists and turns. Saturday's schedule in Week 2 sizes up to be a big one. The day starts early with another ACC-SEC battle between rivals Miami and Florida. Later, Georgia tries to avoid going 0-2 when it takes on South Carolina in a game that has been key in deciding the SEC East champion in recent years.

The night will be capped off with Notre Dame traveling to Michigan in a game between rivals—or are they?

It has always been about circumstance. You don’t sit around for three and half years and then suddenly become the best player on the field by accident.

Look at Michigan over the last month of last season. The Wolverines were a completely different team because of one player.

One guy -- quarterback Devin Gardner -- who couldn’t get off the bench.

“There were times,” Gardner said earlier this summer, “when it seemed like it might not happen for me.”

Michigan coach Brady Hoke will never admit it because he’s not going to kneecap another player. But the biggest mistake he has made in two-plus seasons at Ann Arbor was not playing Gardner sooner instead of Wolverines cult hero Denard Robinson.

Hoke’s not alone; former coach Rich Rodriguez told me this offseason one of his biggest regrets was not getting Gardner on the field. Why? Circumstances forced it -- just like it did with Hoke.

Rodriguez won three games in his first season, and was desperate in Year 2. Gardner wasn’t ready as a true freshman, and Robinson was one of the most electric players in the game -- as a runner.

So after Michigan won five games in Year 2, it was clear Rodriguez had little wiggle room if Year 3 wasn’t a significant improvement. And if you’ve got no wiggle room, you’re not throwing a then-redshirt freshman (Gardner) into the fray and hoping he can give you more than the other guy who at least keeps defenses guessing with his legs.

So Robinson played and Gardner sat and Rodriguez was eventually fired. Hoke arrives, and -- circumstance demands -- who in their right mind doesn’t play one of the most dynamic players in the game over the previous two seasons, even if he was a liability as a thrower?

After the Michigan defense was the key to a BCS bowl run in 2011, Robinson stayed as starter again in 2012 and Gardner moved to wide receiver. Robinson gets hurt midway through season, Gardner takes over and by the end of the season, Michigan is playing straight up with SEC heavyweight South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.

“We were a different team,” said Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan.

That’s why this Michigan team is nothing like the Michigan team that lost to Notre Dame early last year. Why this Michigan team won’t score only six points against this Irish like 2012; why it won’t commit six turnovers and look lost on offense.

Why this Michigan team will win what could be the last regular season game in Ann Arbor between these teams in this storied rivalry.

That was Chad Morris earlier this week, flatly stating the only thing that slowed down the Clemson offense against Georgia was Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd.

The same Boyd who accounted for five touchdowns and led Clemson to a huge win. The same Boyd who carried the Clemson offense the last two seasons and is the key to the Tigers’ national championship hopes.

So why is Morris, Clemson’s innovative offensive coordinator, calling out Boyd? Because he realizes just how good the offense can be this fall; how dangerous Clemson can become the faster it plays.

Clemson wants to reach 80-90 plays a game, and ran 76 against Georgia. The more snaps, Morris says, the more chance Clemson has to score.

“By no means were we perfect,” Boyd said. “I know that, we all know that.”

And they’ve got six weeks to work on it until the next game of significance: playing host to FSU on Oct. 19. Until then, there’s South Carolina State this week, and the likelihood that the Tigers reach at least 90 plays this weekend.

It’s only Sam Houston State, you say. It could be the most important game of Johnny Manziel’s season, I say.

We’re two weeks from the biggest game of the year for Texas A&M, and Manziel still hasn’t proven he has his head squared away. Last week’s antics only reinforced his offseason of crazy.

That’s why this meaningless game against an FCS powerhouse looms so large. Manziel must not only play well, but must prove he can stay focused on the field – no matter the distractions.

If he couldn’t do it last week against Rice; if he can’t do it this week against Sam Houston State, what happens when the real test comes next weekend against two-time defending national champion Alabama?

Don’t think this is a throwaway game for the Aggies. Don’t think this is a setup game of little consequence and the goal is to emerge healthy. The goal is to emerge with the Johnny Manziel of old -- and nothing else.

South Carolina star DE Jadeveon Clowney was criticized for taking plays off in the season opener against North Carolina. Georgia QB Aaron Murray lost (again) in a game against a top-10 opponent.

Then there’s this: South Carolina has won three in a row over Georgia, yet the Gamecocks have watched the Bulldogs play in the last two SEC Championship Games.

And the player with the biggest burden: South Carolina QB Connor Shaw. When he plays well, the Gamecocks are nearly unbeatable. When he’s running and extending plays with his feet, and throwing accurately -- and keeping coach Steve Spurrier’s hook away -- the South Carolina offense scores in bunches.

When he’s on, South Carolina beats up Georgia and Clemson and Michigan (7 TD, 1 INT in 2012); when he’s not, South Carolina looks lost (2 TD, 2 INT in losses to Florida, LSU).

So this is going to sound a little nutty, but stay with me: Virginia is going to scare the bejeezus out of Oregon.

Not because Virginia is elite, not because Oregon is overrated. But because Oregon’s first road game under new coach Mark Helfrich is a long trip, and because Virginia can slow down the game by running the ball and playing strong defense.

This is Mike London’s most complete team at UVa since he arrived in Charlottesville in 2010. Look at what the Hoos did to BYU QB Taysom Hill last week: 13-of-40 (33 percent) for 175 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.

Hill isn’t at the level of Oregon’s Marcus Mariota yet, but he’ll put up big numbers this season. And the Virginia defense made him look lost.